{"id":4766,"date":"2017-10-16T06:40:38","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T13:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=4766"},"modified":"2017-10-24T00:45:59","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T07:45:59","slug":"the-disneyland-club-yokohama-japan-10152017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/?p=4766","title":{"rendered":"The Disneyland Club \u2013 Yokohama, Japan \u2013 [10\/15\/2017]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Follow Me To…Hong Kong Disneyland” by Murad Osmann<\/p><\/div>\n

He made the Disneyland club? No one makes the Disneyland club! Even *I* am not in the Disneyland Club!<\/em><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Silv said, years ago when I informed her that I was inviting Amras to accompany to Cali the next time I went (We don\u2019t know when that will be of course, but the invitation was extended, and accepted with grace).<\/p>\n

Cali or not, the fact remains that I do not ask just anyone to come with me to a Disney park. There\u2019s reasons for this, mostly to do with the fact that I can\u2019t bear the idea of bringing someone who doesn\u2019t \u201cget\u201d me, who doesn\u2019t respect why these places are so very dear to my heart, doesn\u2019t get why being part of my personal \u201cDisneyland club\u201d is\u2026important to me.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been five years since I was last in Tokyo (I know, how strange it is to actually measure something like that by \u201cthe last time I was here\u201d whoever thought I would ever get to Tokyo more than once<\/em>?). As was the case then, our call here is just close enough to my birthday that it never occurred to me to go anywhere else. I told Amras this months ago, and then I took a breath, and I asked him if he\u2019d like to come with me\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never shared \u201cmy\u201d Disney parks with anyone, not anyone important. Once I went to Hong Kong with a teammate, but other than that, season after season, I have always gone alone. Fear of letting people in runs high with me. But this time, I took someone else by the hand, and I pulled\u2026<\/p>\n

Welcome to my world\u2026come on, let me show you around.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was a long trip out there. Longer than I remembered from 5 years ago. But I was also ridiculously bouncy, which I\u2019m sure was at least mildly amusing to the others who happened to be travelling with us.<\/p>\n

It was also raining, I knew from past experience that this time of year that\u2019s pretty much to be expected in Tokyo, so the good thing is that it wasn\u2019t the kind of monsoon weather I braved last time I was here. The nice thing about the rain? The line to get in was nearly non-existent, although the park was crowded it was not nearly as much so as I had feared. Especially since it has been known to close it\u2019s gates at noon during high season!<\/p>\n

I had forgotten one thing about attending this particular park this time of year: it\u2019s Halloween, and Halloween is BIG at Tokyo Disney, it\u2019s the only time of year that guests are allowed to wear costumes to the park , and unlike the American parks, it\u2019s not only restricted to guests under the age of 10. There were costumes everywhere<\/em>, and these weren\u2019t just slapped together drug store costumes, these were fully built cosplay affairs. Absolutely beautiful.<\/p>\n

Amras had asked me before we left which ride I wanted to go on first. For me, there is only one answer to that. I pulled out the park map and scanned Fantasy Land<\/p>\n

Which way?<\/em><\/p>\n

Hang on, realigning myself with the layout, it\u2019s been a while. Let\u2019s see we\u2019re at 83\u2026it\u2019s at\u202692\u2026should be right around the corner.<\/em><\/p>\n

And I grabbed his hand and walked him to Peter Pan\u2019s Flight.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an A-level ride in length, and it always has E-ticket lines. But this is something I absolutely have to do first.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s an E-ticket?<\/em><\/p>\n

Oooh! I get to be a nerd! So, when the original Disneyland opened in California the admission didn\u2019t include the rides\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

And so it was that I stood in line and explained exactly what the terminology \u201cE-ticket\u201d and \u201cA-ticket\u201d stood for. I am, as many know, rather full of such things with regards to Disneyland trivia, and Mum & Dad actually have an original ticket book that still has its E-tickets in it! Which remains one of my very favourite collectables.<\/p>\n

Peter Pan \u2013 which this time I did not try to film \u2013 was once again as it always has been. Now and for always that will remain my \u201cI did it, I\u2019m really here, I am not dreaming\u201d ride. I still have no idea where the family tradition of going on that ride first came from, but I have no intention of breaking it. Perhaps part of me just belongs in Neverland. As Mum said when I made my now traditional call home from the castle “well there is ONLY one ride to go on first!”<\/p>\n

From Fantasyland we started trying to figure out where to go next, I have never approached the parks with any kind of timetable (and I still don\u2019t) but it had also been a long time since I walked those paths with anyone other than my family. And as my Mum likes to say \u201cspontaneity takes a lot of planning!\u201d. We sat down to pizza and poured over the park map.<\/p>\n

So, we\u2019re here\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

I pointed to Captain Hook\u2019s restaurant in Fantasyland<\/p>\n

Peter Pan\u2019s here<\/em><\/p>\n

Another point<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see now\u2026I think Tomorrowland. Yup, definitely Tomorrowland\u2026if we go \u2026here\u2026we can pick up the fastpass for Space Mountain. And we can check Star Tours at the same time\u2026and then from there\u2026.<\/em><\/p>\n

My eyes dart across the map to Critter Country<\/p>\n

From there we can check the line for Splash Mountain\u2026that one\u2019s always long, might be best to leave that one till later\u2026oh\u2026and while we\u2019re there\u2026Pirates, we absolutely have to do Pirates.<\/em><\/p>\n

I realize then that I can somewhat feel Amras looking at me, and I\u2019m not sure if he\u2019s puzzled or amused or perhaps just a tiny bit fascinated. It was then that I realized I really have inherited my father\u2019s tendency to theme park plan. Like I said\u2026spontaneity takes a lot of work. So we finished lunch and ambled over to Tomorrowland, only to discover that the next fastpass slot for Space Mountain was\u20268pm. Five hours away.<\/p>\n

Not that five hours is hard to fill in Disneyland. We pocketed the fastpasses, and headed towards Westernland for Big Thunder Mountain. Well, correction, that\u2019s where I wanted<\/em> to go. But\u2026I got lost. I know, me, me I got lost in Disneyland. I may never live this down. I got lost and we ended up in Adventureland instead\u2026directly outside the entrance to the Jungle Cruise.<\/p>\n

It was a sign I tell you! Obviously that\u2019s what was supposed<\/em> to happen!<\/p>\n

Jungle Cruise is one of those rides that will always remain in my memory, perhaps it\u2019s because it\u2019s on my much viewed home video of that last trip as a kid to California. Perhaps the comedy script just embedded itself on my brain so that I would always have something to make me laugh no matter how dark the weather. But whatever the reason, I know it. I know it well enough that even though the version in Tokyo is \u2013 obviously \u2013 in Japanese, I was able to sit there, and recite the whole thing in English.<\/p>\n

And over there we have the second most feared animal in the jungle, the African bull elephant. And over there on the other side is the most feared animal in the jungle, his mother-in-law.<\/em><\/p>\n

And let\u2019s see here we got some lions we got some giraffes we got some zebras and those brown ones with the horns? I have no idea what they are\u2026they must be\u2026gnu.<\/em><\/p>\n

That one makes even me groan.<\/p>\n

We slide gracefully down the river, with the engine revving and the guide chattering happily away. And as we went I found myself leaning over and repeating the English script in Amras\u2019 ear, and yes, we did end up laughing at basically the same time as everyone else.<\/p>\n

And those lions chowin\u2019 down on that zebra there? That brings us to the basic law of the jungle\u2026don\u2019t be a zebra<\/em><\/p>\n

Bottoms up fellas I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll get the point\u2026in the end<\/em><\/p>\n

Every version of the Jungle Cruise is a little different, and the version in Toyko features a beautiful temple section that isn\u2019t in \u2013 as far as I know \u2013 any of the others. There\u2019s little you can do in there except just stare in startlement at the exceptional detail on the walls. It is absolutely beautiful. Of course it\u2019s also lulling you into a sense of security so when you emerge into the steam and the hippos start trying to jump out at you you are caught totally by surprise.<\/p>\n

Yup, I will always love that ride.<\/p>\n

Safely returned to land we hunted out Pirates. Much to my dismay the cast members strictly enforce a no photography rule on the most well known ride in New Orlean\u2019s square. Which is sad, because Toyko still features the auction scene, which is being redone in California very shortly; I am 100% in support of it being redone, but I would have loved to have been able to get one last photograph of the original before it changes. Pirates will always be pirates though, no matter how many changes they may make to it. And even though I know exactly where the drops are and when to hang on and when to look in which direction, I will still always be entertained and enthralled by the self defense of a small coastal town\u2026.and I will still wonder if that dog is ever going to move!<\/p>\n

When we emerged from Pirates, blinking into the growing twilight, we realized we had best get food or we might fall over. The lines for all the sit down restaurants were exceptionally long (dashing my tentative thoughts of treating us to Blue Bayou), so hot dogs it was, which we sat at nibbled on while I adjusted my newly purchased mouse ears and snapped pictures of Applejack with her new trick-or-treat container (yup, found one), while dusk started to fall over Cinderella\u2019s castle. There is something about the castle at night, it looks\u2026peaceful, peaceful and magical and\u2026perfect.<\/p>\n

See, now it feels like we\u2019re in Disney<\/em><\/p>\n

I looked at Amras and quirked an eyebrow<\/p>\n

Hmmm?<\/em><\/p>\n

Now it feels like we\u2019re in Disney, looking at the castle, and you\u2019re wearing the ears. Now it feels real.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every so often in life there are moments where everything seems to go \u201cclick\u201d\u2026that was one of them. We sat in silence for a bit, finishing our hot dogs, until the park announcement rang out<\/p>\n

Ladies and Gentleman boys and girls, in just 15 minutes we will light Cinderella\u2019s castle with this evenings performance of Once Upon A Time<\/em><\/p>\n

This was new. The last time I was here I don\u2019t recall them having a castle show; if they did, I definitely somehow managed to not see it.<\/p>\n

Shall we<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Japan is possibly the most beautifully considerate and polite country in the world, here you will find no screaming children, no shoving crowds, no people babbling too loudly on their phones. As such, it was wonderfully easy for us to find a spot at the edge of the viewing area that had a clear view of the castle. And then my jaw dropped as the castle became<\/em> the screen.<\/p>\n

There is no other way to describe it, and I have never seen anything like it. Fireworks and animations and lightening painted its way across the canvas of the castle, with a soundtrack such as only Disney can provide. I stood there, with Amras\u2019 hands resting warmly on the tops of my shoulders, and for the first time that day, I felt my heart start to spill out of my eyes. There is a reason I never wear any make-up that isn\u2019t waterproof to any Disney park. Especially when it comes to night-time shows, even if I\u2019ve managed to make it through the entire day without shedding a tear, when I sit down to watching a parade of any kind of performance\u2026something releases. The tears may come late, but they always come. They came in truth when \u2013 after Alice had been chased about by the Queen\u2019s Guards and the castle had seemingly collapsed in a flurry of giant playing cards \u2013 a paint brush swept it\u2019s way across the turrets, and lanterns began to rise into the painted sky.<\/p>\n

All those years, staring out a window All those years, outside looking in All that time, truly seeing, just how blind I\u2019d been Now I\u2019m here, blinking in the starlight Now I\u2019m here, suddenly I know\u2026 standing here, it\u2019s crystal clear, I\u2019m where I\u2019m meant to go And at last I see the light\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Tangled. It had to be Tangled. Perhaps there was never any question. The story that is \u2013 at it\u2019s heart \u2013 about a girl running off to find herself, and figuring out that world outside her tower is ever<\/em> so much bigger than she ever could have believed. When I first saw the lantern scene in Tangled, I was in my 20s, I was in love, or I thought I was, it\u2019s hard to know looking back; and I remember \u2013 after that love changed back to friendship \u2013 I remember watching that scene again and thinking \u201cOne day, one day I will have that, one day I will have something, someone, that makes me feel like that. That makes me see the world by latern light.\u201d And there I was, in the middle of somewhere so<\/em> important to me, somewhere I have more often than I wanted too stood alone, with someone standing behind me, hands resting on my shoulders, finally not watching a Disneyland nighttime show alone. Finally not hearing that song alone. Finally being there with the right<\/em> person.<\/p>\n

Are you okay?<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes\u2026yes I am absolutely okay.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are some moments\u2026that you can\u2019t even describe just how okay you are. And can only be grateful that the person (or people) that you are standing with, knows the difference between your tears of sorrow and your tears of joy.<\/p>\n

When the light show finished we found ourselves swirled back to Adventureland, where I actually did manage to find my way back to Big\u00a0 Thunder Mountain. Only to discover that it was closed for refurbishment (I later found out that it won\u2019t be open again until November. Boo!), so we wandered about taking pictures until we found ourselves back in Fantasyland just in time to hear the announcement I had secretly been dreading hearing<\/p>\n

Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, a Tokyo Disneyland announcement: we regret to inform you that due to inclement weather Disneyland\u2019s Electrical Parade Dreamlights has been cancelled.<\/em><\/p>\n

My heart sank. The announcement went on to state that there was a shorter alternate parade being run along a slightly different route as a replacement. But \u2013 much as I felt guilty \u2013 I somehow couldn\u2019t bear to see a nighttime parade that wasn\u2019t the one I had so set my heart on (although we did catch it from a distance and I will admit it looked lovely, small by lovely). I would normally never miss a parade\u2026but there is only one electrical parade\u2026and to be honest, I felt oddly as if I would be betraying it somehow. Silly I know\u2026sometimes even I\u2019m not sure how my mind works.<\/p>\n

So instead we employed another one of the crowd-managing tactics that I have learned from my parents. If the parade is running and you aren\u2019t going: the lines are going to be a lot<\/em> shorter. Case in point: the Haunted Mansion had earlier had a full hour\u2019s wait time, we turned around and walked onto it in fifteen minutes! Closed doors, opened windows and all that.<\/p>\n

It being October, the Haunted Mansion has been decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas<\/em> (something Applejack was none to thrilled about). I have only been through it with this set up once before, and I recalled not being very fond of it \u2013 but either they changed something about it, or my \u2013 dare I say it \u2013 traditionalist senses have mellowed, because I actually found it quite brilliant. I\u2019d never really paid a lot of attention to the amount of detail that gets put into the overhaul, even Madame Leota\u2019s speech changes, all for just a few months each year. It was also a blast watching Amras go through it for the first time, somewhat like watching a kid at a candy store.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t this a walk through?<\/em><\/p>\n

Nope. Just the first part.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t tell me anything! <\/em><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t! By the way, the cars are called Doom Buggies.<\/em><\/p>\n

I love it!<\/em><\/p>\n

Overlay or not, the Haunted Manor is still a brilliant ride. Creepy, but brilliant. That said, with the Halloween overlay in place, I found myself having great fun going through and reminding myself which bits were in the original and which had been added.<\/p>\n

What? I have never claimed ot be anything other than a nerd!<\/p>\n

Once we survived the 999 ghostly residents of the manor, I looked around for something with a short enough line that we could enjoy it before heading to Space Mountain. I felt my eyes light up as I saw the exact perfect thing.<\/p>\n

*I* see something we can ride<\/em><\/p>\n

What?<\/em><\/p>\n

Feel like spinning?<\/em><\/p>\n

The line for Alice\u2019s Tea Party (aka the spinning teacups) was blessedly short. Amras and I eyed each other up as we stood in the brief queue. You see, working the tea cups is a skill, one I only mildly possess, one that my father is an absolute master at, and one that I know Amras also has under his belt (I vividly remember how good he was at the Tilt-o-Whirl at the fair when he was visiting a few seasons ago)\u2026I suspected I was about to become a toddler again. And, I was right. I have not laughed that hard in a very<\/em> long time, nor have I spun that fast since I was little girl who was half-afraid she was going to fly right out of the tea-cup! Bloody brilliant.<\/p>\n

When I stumbled off of the tea-cups (really, I needed to hang onto a railing for a moment), I took my traditional ride on the brightly-lit carousal, quietly thrilled that this time there was someone with me to occupy the horse next to me. It\u2019s the little things, and perhaps I\u2019ll never be able to explain it, but it remains important none the less. Very important.<\/p>\n

And then it was finally time for our fast pass slot at Space Mountain.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said it before, and I still hold true to it \u2013 I have thoroughly adopted my Mum\u2019s reason for loving Space Mountain: the requirement of total faith in the machinery. You can\u2019t see it, so you really have no choice but to enjoy it.<\/p>\n

As we started ratcheting up the ramp to launch, I remembered one thing.<\/p>\n

Oh! Don\u2019t put your hands up!<\/em><\/p>\n

How come?<\/em><\/p>\n

At that point the rocket launched and I had to raise my voice ot be heard above the rattle of the tracks<\/p>\n

Dark coaster! Cant\u2019 see the tracks! You might hit something!<\/em><\/p>\n

And then it was moving way too fast to try to speak.<\/p>\n

Freya but I love that ride.<\/p>\n

Before leaving Tomorrowland we took our turn blasting Aliens through the Toy Story ride, an adventure that was delayed for a few moments while we ran out of the queue to watch the fireworks \u2013 having been caught by surprise because we thought they started later. Only to be surprised again to find that the fireworks show was only five minutes? That\u2026was unanticipated. And then dash back into the queue to take up our lasers to battle the \u201cevil emperor zurg\u201d (the forces of good triumphed! Though the battle was strenuous!)<\/p>\n

With twilight falling, there was only one E-ticket ride left to get to. After lengthy debate as to whether or not it was worth getting wet, we finally boarded Splash Mountain (spending more time walking through the near-empty queue than actually waiting), and joined Br\u2019ar Rabbit in the briar patch; winding our way up and up and up, until eventually of course, what goes up? Has <\/em>\u00a0to come down! Rather a long way down\u2026and for the first time ever, I was able to film the drop\u2026which trust me, is an accomplishment. Yes, I also may or may not have screamed on said drop, even though I was prepared for it. What? It always catches me by surprise!<\/p>\n

Feet aching but hearts light, we joined the last of the crowds making their way towards the entrance, where When You Wish Upon A Star<\/em> finally reached my ears, and caught my breath once more, before we boarded the train and made our slow way back\u00a0 to Yokohama and our floating home (which we reached\u2026at midnight).<\/p>\n

Goodnight Neverland\u2026I don\u2019t think I ever really leave you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He made the Disneyland club? No one makes the Disneyland club! Even *I* am not in the Disneyland Club! That\u2019s what Silv said, years ago when I informed her that I was inviting Amras to accompany to Cali the next … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[98,19,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grand-asiaaustralia-2017","category-theme-parks","category-travel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3GtNE-1eS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4766"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4782,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4766\/revisions\/4782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloodinyoursaltwater.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}